FREMONT — Despite adding a new incinerator that may increase its burning activity, an Irvington crematory still will meet air quality standards, according to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District.

However, some parents at nearby schools remain steamed over the change.

The Irvington Memorial Cemetery and Crematory’s sixth incinerator will have the capacity by itself to cremate

2,300 bodies a year. Added to its five other incinerators, the oldest of which dates back to the 1960s, the new one would increase the crematory’s overall annual capacity to more than 8,300 bodies per year, according to the air quality district.

The new incinerator would give the crematory’s emissions an estimated maximum cancer risk of eight in a million, according to district documents obtained by The Argus.

However, that figure still complies

with the San Francisco-based district’s level of acceptable maximum cancer risk, which is 10 in a million. That spurred district officials to issue a permit to the crematory, said Dharam Singh, a district air quality engineer.

In addition, Fremont officials have issued a construction building permit to the crematory for the new incinerator. The city could not deny the permit because the Irvington business has a use permit for operating as a crematory, said Jill Keimach, Fremont Community Development Director. City officials say they have been talking to crematory owner Robert Rose on how best to use the business’ six incinerators.

“The only thing we can do is use persuasion,” Keimach said. “There is no regulatory process (for the city). We have no control over it.”

There is no safety hazard connected to the new incinerator because it is more efficient and has less emissions, crematory owner Robert Rose recently told The Argus.

But Rosemary Yoshikawa, whose son attends nearby Horner Junior High School, worries that the growing burning capacity creates the potential for air pollution that would harm schoolchildren.

More than 1,400 Fremont children attend schools within four blocks of the crematory: Horner Junior High School, Hirsch Elementary School and the Seneca Center. In addition, Irvington High School, which is also near the crematory, has nearly 2,000 students.

As long as it meets the standards of the air quality district, “we don’t think there’s any cause for concern,” Fremont Unified School District spokesman Gary Leatherman said. “We err on the far side of caution in these matters, and there doesn’t appear to be any health hazard, as far as we know.”

Bruce Funk, parent of a Horner Junior High School student, said he is disappointed with the school district’s response. “You would think that the school district would want to weigh in on an issue that will affect the air quality of district students and (teachers),” Funk said.

But Fremont mortuary owner Kevin Smith disagrees. Smith, owner of Berge-Pappas-Smith Mortuary, said he contracts with Irvington Memorial and annually sends about 150 to 175 bodies there to be cremated.

“They do a great job,” Smith said. “They’re timely, they’re clean. They put out less pollutants than other crematories and other industries.”

Crematories get a bad rap, he said, adding that the fast food and trucking industries, by comparison, emit far more pollutants.

However, Yoshikawa remains concerned.

“This growing incinerating facility happens to be close to three schools,” Yoshikawa said. “Should it continue to grow when it emits toxins out of those stacks? Should we allow it to increase capacity?”

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